.Chapter 10.

This chapter is dedicated to @Kathy2165

"This one?"

"Nope."

"Then this?"

"No, definitely not."

"Fine, how about . . . this one?"

"It's fine . . . Uh, actually no, it's too fancy."

"God, why is it so hard to please you?" Alicia yelled at me. "Just pick a damn dress and go change already!"

"I want to look good," I reasoned, looking around to see the number of dresses I had rejected.

"You'll look good anyways," Sara rolled her eyes.

"Gee, thanks. Like, that's helping a lot," I retorted.

She raised her hands in defense. "Take it, or leave it. That's the best I could do, babe."

Well, you didn't do enough.

"Chris, you just have an hour," Courtney chastised, clicking her fingers in front of my face.

"I know, I know," I started panicking again, and then slumped down on my bed after a moment. "I think, I'll just go naked."

"Don't be stupid, we'll find the perfect dress for you," Alicia said, getting on her feet.

"Not that Julian would mind seeing you naked," Courtney said slyly, wiggling her eyebrows. "And I bet he has."

"Shut up, Court!" I said, blushing furiously.

But inwardly, a lion was purring inside my chest. I was afraid . . . afraid that history might repeat itself.

I wanted to ignore the horrid feeling, but I couldn't run away from the truth and the possibilities forever. I wanted to think about something positive; I wanted it to be so strong that it would overcome my fears, and make the lion in my chest roar with confidence.

"Chris, can I have a word?" Alicia said, and practically dragged me outside the room before I could answer.

"What's wrong?" she asked, pulling me into another room. "I've been watching you, and you seem to zone out quite a lot."

Should I tell her?

I just wanted to take it all out.

"Al, I'm terrified," I blurted out.

"Go on."

"What if he cheats on me again?! What if he thinks that getting back with me is a mistake? What if he's just taking me out on a date because he's already asked me, and he can't back out now? What if today's date does not go well, and he thinks I'm lousy?

"What if I make a fool of myself? I really don't know what to do! What if he has stopped liking me, Al?" I whispered the last part with so much emotion, that I felt like I was gonna have a mental breakdown.

I searched her blue eyes, and she pulled me into a hug.

"What if," she began gently, "what if he's been waiting for centuries to take you out again? What if he has doubts about himself, whether he'll be good enough for you? What if he's anxious to know whether you will enjoy the date and your time with him? What if he has taken pains to make sure that the date goes perfect? What if he's willing to wait till he gains your complete trust again?"

"You think?" I asked uncertainly.

"I know," she reassured me. "And he's the one who fucked up your relationship. So he should be the anxious one, not you."

"But it was my fault too," I mumbled, looking down.

"But you were going to give him what he wanted, that very night, weren't you? Trust me, he has to do a lot of hard work to make you his girlfriend."

I smiled shyly, before nodding my head in agreement.

"Don't give in to his so-called 'charms'," Alicia smirked, making air quotes. "Let him chase you."

"Thanks," I said, giving her a quick hug.

"Let's go back. I think it's high time we found the perfect dress."

And sure enough, I found myself standing in front of my friends, who cat-called and wolf-whistled the minute I stepped out of my closet, with my hair and make up done.

"So . . . how do I look?" I said, twirling around to let my friends take a good look.

"Hot."

"Sexy."

"Beautiful."

"Thanks," I said happily, and couldn't help but take a peek at myself in the mirror.

I was wearing a navy blue dress which had slight sleeves, and rested at mid-thigh; on my feet were blue heels which made me look taller and more confident. I had let my hair loose; no straightening and no curling-just a natural look. In my hand was a matching bracelet. I had fallen in love with it the moment I saw it; so I bought it immediately.

"Jesus, guys. I'm damn nervous," I said, and started pacing back and forth. I could feel their eyes following my every move, as though it were a tennis match.

"I think you should stop what you're doing," Sara said. "You'll sweat and ruin the make up."

"Easy for you to say," I rolled my eyes.

All the three of them were in pyjama shorts and over sized t-shirts; CDs of various chick flicks were strewn all over the bed, their attractive covers seeming as though they were eager to be watched by the girls. Courtney had sneaked in drinks with the help of her older brother, and it wasn't really hard to guess that by the time I'll come home, I'll see three very drunk teenage girls on our sofa, with half-eaten pizza lying in open boxes.

I was weirdly glad that I was not gonna be home.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, bringing me back to my senses. Holy shit.

"I can't go, tell him I have malaria!" I yelled, before scurrying to the bathroom and locking myself in.

I cringed at the profanities that my friends were throwing at me.

You're acting really stupid, you know. Just leave the bathroom, and go outside!

After a couple of minutes of fighting with myself, I decided to suck it up.

Blowing out air through my mouth, I opened the bathroom door warily, keeping a look out for frustrated my friends. They might pounce on me or something.

I walked out of my room cautiously, listening for the sound of threatening footsteps, and then I heard voices downstairs.

"-she's still getting ready." It was Alicia's voice.

"Oh, I guess I'll wait here then," I recognized Julian's voice in a heartbeat.

"NO!" Courtney's voice rang sharp and loud in my ears, and then her high pitched voice became low instantly. "I mean . . . there's no need for you to stay here, Ju. I'll send her at your place."

"Have the three of you gone crazy?! Where the hell is she?"

"Malaria," Sara blurted out, and I face palmed myself. I heard an echo of "Sara!" downstairs, and then Julian spoke again.

"How can she get malaria? She was fine just yesterday in school."

"Only you would know, eh, Julian?"

"Shut up, Court."

"Ooh . . . Someone's blushing," she teased, and I shook my head.

Just leave the poor boy alone!

"I need to know if she's okay," he said, and I found myself smiling at that.

"No, no, no . . . You can't go upstairs!" Alicia exclaimed.

"But why not?"

"Because she has malaria?" Sara answered.

I swear to God, she was the dumbest human on earth.

"What's going on, girls? Oh, hey Julian." It was a new voice, and I knew who it belonged to.

"Oh hey, Izzy. Um, do you know where Chris is? The girls are . . . er, confusing me."

"You two going on a date? Aw, that's cute! Wait, I'm pretty sure she has done her make up and all. I think she's just having cold feet or nerves."

And that's what I was afraid of! I knew Izzy would see right through me. Ugh . . . Why does this happen to me?

"Nerves? But . . .wait, I'll go and call her."

"Yeah yeah, go Julian. Work your charms on her and bring her down on a white horse," Alicia teased, and I heard a faint mumble of "Shut up, Al".

But before Julian could come up, I almost sprinted downstairs, and just with my luck, ran into him. "Woah! Sorry," I said sheepishly.

"It's . . . okay," he said, and I looked up to see him staring at me.

"What?"

"N-Nothing," he stuttered, never taking his eyes off me.

I smiled, and took his hands in mine, before leading the way out of the house.

---

"So, where are we going?" I asked with a smile.

"Just at a new restaurant joint I found a few days ago. The food's simply delicious. You'll like it, trust me."

"Okay," I chuckled at his enthusiasm.

I turned on the radio in the car: We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus was on.

I grinned at Julian, who had an equally big smile on his face. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?" Julian asked me with a smirk on his face.

"I am thinking the exact same thing that you are thinking," I blushed.

--

"Alright, let's put a little variation in the game," Seth said with a smirk on his face, pulling out two bottles of vodka from nowhere, and people hooted encouragingly. One was empty, while the other was still corked.

"I'll be the one to spin the bottle every time, and the person towards the broader edge has to dare the person towards whom the neck of the bottle is pointing. And it has to be something sensual," he said, and a murmur of oooh's echoed through our group.

"Someone's high on testosterone," I muttered to Courtney who was seated beside me, causing her to burst into a fit of giggles.

"But not sex, of course," Seth continued, and a couple of the people boo'd him.

"The person who refuses to do what they're told, have to drink up! Clear?"

The first round of Spin The Bottle began, all of us oblivious to the dancing people around us. Everyone held their breath, waiting to see on who the bottle landed on.

It spun and spun in circles, before coming to a stop. All looked up to see who the victim of the bottle was.

It was Dan.

And the broader side pointed towards Alicia. Oh, this could not be good!

Alicia put on a thoughtful face, before saying, "I want you to swap bacteria with Jace, for one whole minute."

There was a moment of silence, before everyone started chanting. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

"I hate you," he scowled at Alicia, before turning to Jace, who had a scandalized expression on his face.

"That's not fair to me!" he exclaimed in dismay, but no one was really paying attention to what he was saying. "Dude, please drink! Don't kiss me."

But Dan was too shocked to listen. Everyone was cheering at them, and my eyes fell on the quarterback of the football team. He was laughing with the others, pointing at Jace's helpless self, and hi-fived his friend, showing off his perfect white teeth.

"Do you want me to set you up with him?" Courtney whispered in my ear. "I know that he likes you."

I turned to face her in surprise, and my heartbeats started increasing their pace after hearing what she said. "How do you know that?"

"He used to be my best friend, duh. I can tell; and after all, everyone saw him drive you home that day, when Al had extra dance practice."

"Oh," I said, furrowing my eyebrows. I didn't know that.

The commotion around us brought our attention back to the game. Dan's face was mere inches away from Jace's, and both had that constipated look on their faces.

Oh, I was never gonna let Dan forget this, I thought wickedly.

"No," Dan said suddenly, backing away. "Never in a million years am I gonna kiss him. Give me the drink."

The look on Jace's face was priceless!

Alicia looked at me, and we burst out laughing, along with some others.

"I'm gonna spin it again," Seth announced after Dan had gulped down a shot of vodka.

Again, the air around us thickened, as everyone's attention was only on the spinning bottle.

I glanced to my left, taking a sneak peek of Julian's handsome face. Maybe he realized that I was staring at him, because he looked up and winked at me, causing me to give a shy smile, and waved my fingers at him.

The bottle gradually slowed down, pointing towards Courtney and Julian; the narrow neck indicating that Julian had to do what Court told him to do.

"Julian, for full two minutes, you have to grind with . . ."

My blood boiled at the thought of him touching someone else, and I instantly wanted to leave.

I almost got up before Courtney grabbed my arm.

"Grind with Chris."

Wait, what?!

I shot a warning look at Courtney, but it was too late; Julian had already got up, and was walking towards me.

Was this really happening?

"C'mon," he said, and took my hand in his. Tingles shot up my arm, and I couldn't help but notice how my tiny hand fit in his large one so perfectly.

"Y-You can drink, you know," I mumbled, as he pulled me to the dance floor.

"And miss the opportunity to dance with you? Never."

Why were his words affecting me so much? I thought, as my stomach did back flips.

Slowly, I turned around, so that his front side was facing my back.

We Can't Stop by Miley Cyrus was blaring through the loud speakers. What a perfect song for the situation, I thought to myself, as I grinded my hips against his thighs.

His hands roamed my torso, causing my breath to hitch in my throat, and my heart started beating erotically.

We kept dancing like that, and I could practically feel him getting turned on against me. I wanted to kiss him so bad: it was unhealthy.

Nevertheless, I turned around and looked at him in the eyes.

"Two minutes are over," I mumbled, and left the dance floor.

I could never forget the first time I did something sensual with Julian.

--

"I really thought that you were gonna kiss me," he smirked as we reached the restaurant.

"You're never gonna let that go, are you?" I scowled.

"Haha, no."

After Julian parked the car somewhere, I got out of the car. "You should have let me do it," Julian muttered, and I apologized.

"Shall we?" he said, extending his arm like a gentleman, and I accepted it.

"Of course."

We walked into the restaurant, and I glanced around the restaurant while Julian gave his name, saying that he had a reservation.

The restaurant had a very homey feeling to it, and I couldn't help but smile at the soft music which was playing in the background. It wasn't too loud to disturb the customers, but it wasn't too soft either. Just perfect.

"C'mon Chris." Julian's voice brought me back to where I was.

We took our seats, and I smiled to myself. Never would have I thought that I would actually go out with Julian after our break up. He knew most of the things about me, how my childhood was, how my life back in New York was-I felt very comfortable when it came to him. I could be myself.

"So, how's life treating you?" he asked me.

"Fine, I guess," I shrugged. "The entire cheer leading team is pumped up for the competition. And I think your football team is, too?"

"Yeah, we're shaping up pretty well. I do want us to win like last time."

"I do hope that all of our teams win," I said earnestly. "Dance, basketball, cheer leading, football and swimming. Wow, our school's pretty active when it comes to participation in extra curricular activities."

He chuckled, and leaned forward slightly. Subconsciously, I extended my hands and laid them on the table.

"Hey, have you seen the notice about the Winter Ball?" he asked me.

"The Winter Ball? No, I haven't. When is it?"

Our school organized wonderful parties.

"I dunno, but it's in a month or so. And I heard that it is based on a masquerade theme or something."

"Oh. Well, I just needed a valid reason to shop, and now I have it," I said, causing him to laugh.

Suddenly, his attention turned to something behind me, and he called out someone. "Bradon!"

Huh? Where did that come from?

I turned around, and my eyes widened slightly. Brad was walking towards us with a girl almost clinging onto him.

"Hey," he grinned at us. "Good to see both of you."

"You too," me and Julian said simultaneously, and smiled at each other.

"Meet Penelope, my date," he introduced us to the girl. She gave us a small smile, and shook hands with us.

"So, where did you two meet?" Julian asked them.

"At a party two weeks ago," Penelope giggled. "Last to last weekend to be exact."

"So . . . you went to another party after you left from Jace's?" Julian questioned. My heart sank in my chest after I realized what Julian was saying was true. So what Brad basically did was, dropped a distressed me home, and then went off to another party.

How uncool of him.

"Well," I said coldly, without looking at Brad. "I think we should give our order, don't you think Julian?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, sensing the change in my mood.

"It was nice to meet you," I said to Penelope, and buried my head in the menu card.

And with that, the both of them left the table; and thankfully, Julian didn't question my behavior.

And suddenly, my phone buzzed in my purse. Opening it, I realized that I had a new message.

'I'm sorry :( I didn't mean for you to find out like this. You can stay mad at me for as long as you want, I won't mind. Sorry again.'

I couldn't help but smile at this. I forgive you this time, Bradon.

****

Ta-da! I really love Julian! *squeals* He's sooo hot ;P

Vomment, my dears . . . And could you give me 11 votes till the next update? I know you can, cuz you're awesome :D

-Crazy